There is a constant demand for economic and efficient ways to produce polymers with various properties. Branched polymers are common and are useful to provide beneficial properties, as compared to linear polymers. In particular, branched polymers can confer specific benefit terms of crosslink density, viscosity, tensile strength, elongation, modulus, and the like.
Controlled radical polymerization (hereinafter CRP), including single-electron transfer living radical polymerization (hereinafter SET-LRP) and atom transfer living polymerization (hereinafter ATRP), is a process which produces various polymer products, in high yield, with functional, non-terminated ends, with high molecular weights, and with a low polydispersity index. Thus, CRP has been employed to design a variety of polymer products.
However, typical CRP polymer processes rely on mono-functionalized monomers, and thus, produce linear polymers. Moreover, bulk polymerization produces branched polyarcylates with a broad polydispersity index due to the heat produced during polymerization.
Thus, there exists a need for a CRP polymer process that produces branched polymers with a low polydispersity.